Sheet-metal spool.



E J. HUBBARD.

SHEEI. METAL SPOOL; APPLICATION FILED APR-26.1913.

Patentad 5m 15, 1915.

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EBER J. HUBBARD, F BERWYN, ILLINOIS.

sneer-METAL SPOOL.

intranet.

Application filed April 26, 1913. Serial No. 763,804..

To all whom it may] concern Be it known that I, Ennn .l'. HUBBARD, acitizen of the United States, and resident of Berwyn. in the county ofCook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Sheet-Metal Spools, of which this is a specification.

My invention relates to sheet metal spools or reels particularlyadaptable for receiving wire.

My improved spool is of that class in which sheet metal end plates aresecured to a sheet metal hub, and among the important objects are toprovide improved means for locking the seam edges of the hub securelytogether after the hub has been bentinto cylindrical form from a sheetmetal blank in order that the hub will retain its proper shape anddiameter while the end plates are applied and secured to the endsthereof; to provide an annular bead or pocket on each end diskconcentric therewith and with a diameter at its apex equal to thediameter which the hub should have in the finished spool the entranceedges of the beads or pockets guiding the ends of the hub accurately tothe 'apexes of the beads and contracting the hub ends should the seamedges have separated; to provide teeth on the ends of the hub and toprovide slits in the apexes of the beads through which the teeth extendto be welded and fused into the material adj acent the slits; and ingeneral to provide a construction consisting only of a sheet metal huband sheet metal disks united to the hub in the abovementioned manner toform a practically unitary spool of great strength and rigidity and ofvery little weight.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a side elevational view; Fig. 2is an end View of the completed spool; Fig. 3 is a side View of one ofthe end plates; Fig.4 is a side elevational view with one end of the huband the end disk thereon in section and the other end disk removed; andFig. 5 is an end View of the hub.

The hub is bent up from a rectangular blank 10 (dotted lines) of sheetmetal in one edge of which is provided the dovetailed groove 11 and atthe opposite edge the tongue 12. The blank is rolled into cylindric formby suitable dies,.the tongue being engaged in the groove to hold-theadjacent edges together and to prevent springing apart thereof,particularly before the hub is Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 115, 1915..

applied and secured to the end plates. In order to still more closelylock the edges of the blank together when the hub is formed, 1

the ends 11 adjacent the s ot 11 are punched While the hub is still inthe die in order to force the metal of these ends into the corners 12 atthe base of the tongue, the edges of the hub being then closely heldtogether so that they cannot spring apart and also to prevent relativelongitudinal displacement of these edges. The blank also has notches 13cut therefrom to leave rectangular teeth 14 at the ends of the hub.

The end disks 2 and 7) from a circular disk of sheet metal. The metal 15adjacent the central hole 16 is deare each formedup k flected inwardly adistance to form a bearing for a supporting shaft for the spool andconcentric with this central opening and extending outwardly is theannular head or ridge 17, the internal width of this bead adjacent itsapex being substantially that of the thickness of the metal of the huband the diameter of the bead being the same as that of the hub. Cutthrough the apex of the bead are the arcuate slits 18 for receiving theteeth 14: on the hub. When the end disks are now applied to the hub theteeth 14% 6X- tend through and a slightdistance beyond the slits 18 andthe bases of the slots 13 on the hub engage against the inner face ofthe bead apex, the hub being then at'perfect right angles with the enddisks. The hub ends by engaging with the rounded entrance edges 19 and20 of the beads upon application of the end disks are drawn together iffor any reason the edges thereof have sprung apart sothat the hub entersthe apeXes of the beads with its seam edges held closely together, theseam edges at the central portion of the hub being held together by thetongue and groove connection 11 and 12. Thus after the end disks areapplied to the hub, the hub seam edges will be held closely togetheralong the entire length and the end 10% disks will be at perfect rightangles with the hub and will retain this position during furthertreatment of the spool. The ends of the teeth 14 projecting outwardlybeyond the beads are preferably welded and fused to 1% 1 also no dangerof displacing the right-angled arrangement of the disks with referenceto the hub as the welding is by flame and no force whatever isappIied tothe parts during such welding. The tongue and groove connection 11 and12, of which there may be one or more depending upon the length of thespool, will prevent relative longitudinal movement of the adjacent edgesof the hub seam and will thus greatly strengthen the spool againsttorsional and other strains.

In order to strengthen the outer portions of the end plates, theseplates are curled over at their peripheries as indicated at 21; In

order that the spool may readily be turned when wire is to be appliedthereon the periphery of one of the disks is formed to provide a beltgroove 22. The disks have also small inner and outer holes 23 and 24respectively for receiving the ends of the wire Wound on the spool. V

The spool after the welding operation is practically a unitary structureof great strength and rigidity yet of very light weig I do not of coursedesire to be limited to v the precise form and construction as changes2. A-spool or reel comprising a hub and end disks secured thereto, saidhub being bent into cylindrical form from a sheet metal blank having atits one end a dove-tailed tongue and in its other end adove-tailed slot,said tongue and slot interlocln'ng'l'y engaging when the edges arebrought together to form a hub and preventing relative displacement ofthe edges-- In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 22ndday of April, A. D., 1913.

EBER' J. HUBBARD. Witnesses:

CHARLEs J. SCHMIDT, EDMUND G. INGERSOLL.

